March 2013 Cellar Reviews

I'll contribute Lagunitas Old Gnarlywine '11. This beer, I feel, has benefited from aging. Hops have become a distant memory and the alcohol graininess that was present when fresh has rounded into a finer drinking beer. Huge caramel, leather, slight oxidation are some of the primary flavors. Still carbonated and has a good nose on it too boot. I may hold onto my last '11 for one more year to see where it goes but I do think that it is drinking rather well right now. Not bad for the $3.50 I spent on it.

 

Opened a few things this month already but will limit my reply to SN Bigfoot. Opened a '10, '11, '13 recently and was pleased with the direction it is going. I will put forward the disclaimer that I tend to gravitate towards English style barleywines as I don't think the aggressive hopping the American style tends towards, allows the complex malt flavors really come to light. For that reason I favored the '10.

It took until the '10 for the hops to take a back seat, they were detectable but not overwhelming in the '11 and the '13 was very hop forward. The '10 had developed into sweet caramel and toffee goodness, with some light fruit flavors. It still had a good amount of carbonation and no detectable oxidation. I enjoyed it and look forward to going longer with the '10s I have left.

 

2005 Raisin d'Extra. I've had this thing for far too long.

Slightest hiss when the cap comes off. Pours a deep mahogany, very still. Smells strongly of very sweet, mashed raisins and prunes. Little bit of metallic on the nose as well. Flavors are extremely sweet dark fruits at first, then they turn into a strong licorice. Like a red/black licorice hybrid....red at first, then melds with black, then black with a ton of sugar on the finish. Not really any alcohol, just licorice. Very thick mouthfeel.

I can honestly say I don't know what to expect if I run across another of these in 5 years. I'm glad I got to it now, I think.

3/3/4/5/4

 

I drank a Firestone Walker XV last week, and I thought it was delicious. It didn't have very much heat when it was fresh, but it's all gone now. Very rich & boozy. I have a few more bottles, but I am thinking that it can't get much better than it is now.

 

XV is tasting phenomenal right now, but I'd drunk em if you've got em. History is not kind to the anniversary series after two years, and XIV is past prime (still delicious, but past).

 

Russian River Damnation 23 (Batch 69), bottled in July 2011.

Any tripel character has faded significantly, with the yeast taking a back seat to the oaky flavor. In many ways, this now tastes like a Belgian blonde barleywine. Really a unique experience, and highly recommended. It might continue to get better, but I'd be surprised...

 

thanks for the advice i was planning to open the 14 soon, now ill make it priority

 

Turned 30 today... celebrated with this:



Right in its prime (you know... for what I'm looking for ) -- cap came off with the slightest hiss (no carbonation on the palate), nose is burnt coffee, some soy sauce, basement must, a little balsamic. Mouthfeel is surprisingly rich, taste is extremely vinous with a strong sherry flavor, a bit of tannic leather, and some cherry/prune stuff going on. A little iodine in the finish. Really excellent.

 

In regards to the damnation, i had every single batch made for about a 18 month + period. Never really noticed a difference in hte taste, but as they aged, the cork got harder and harder to get out. I'm no weakling, but i ended up giving a bunch to a friend because i wanted to kill myself one night when it was the only beer i had that was cold and i tried to no avail to get the cork out for over half hour. Maybe i was doing something wrong, but i plan on drinking those fresh from here on out. All in all, i am a big fan of Damnation despite the cork issues. I think its just because the yeast carbonates the bottle (?), and makes it extremely difficult to open. Does anybody else have or had that issue? My friends love to bust my.... about it, and i'm kind of sick of dealing with it. Wonderful beer though

 

Had a year old Devil in the Details last night and it's turning sour. - took a long time for the infection to take hold but it's well on its way now.
We all poured it.

Also had a Firestone walker 12 which was amazing. Had this a year ago and I thought it wasnt aging well but it must have been in a "valley"

2007 Dark Lord was tasing pretty good (for a Dark Lord) - way better than the 2010 we also had.

 

E-bay was really good place to get these. I'm sorry a few bad eggs had to spoil it for the rest of us.

 

what beer is this?

 

Courage Imperial Russian Stout (formerly Barclay-Perkins Russian Imperial Stout): http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/664/12873 -- made up until 1993 and then resumed in 2011, though it seems likely that the 2011 may not have the aging potential of the original.

 

Damnation 23 is a completely different beer.

 

Widmer W'11 KGB
I had no preconceived notions on this. I found this beer to be a good value although not necessarily a great RIS.
I did have a fairly aggressive pour and a good size head appeared. Dark with nice dark red highlights. Aroma is a rich dark malt with some nice fruit and dark toast/roast. Taste carries the roast much heavier than any deep fruit. Dryness still there too. Grains still hold some sharpness too. This may have smoothed out some, but it's a little hard to tell. All in all it's still a decent RIS and remains a good value.

 

08 GI BCS - starting to oxidize, drink now.

 

Drank a Sebago Single Batch Series Barley wine last night.

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/23973/42419

This beer was already quite amazing fresh, but was definitely on the harsh side. After about a year or so, the bourbon was toned down a bit but still pretty forward. It was super-smooth and extremely complex. Total bargain at $8 a bomber too.

 

I think I have two left. Gonna make sure I drink em soon. Thanks.

 

Cracked a five year old Val Dieu Grand Cru last night. Pours a light brown color, like that of flat pepsi, with a decent head for the age. The cork was a bitch to get off but rewarding to drink. Pours a light brown color, like that of flat pepsi. Very carbonated, so much so that when held in the mouth you can hear it in your ears. Aroma of green apple, dark fruit, and yeast. This beer drinks dangerously easy, even more so after aging. My girlfriend thought I was drinking a soda when she tasted it. Dr. Pepper is the only flavor (or 23 flavors) that I can attribute to this beer but as the beer warmed, green apple became much more prevalent. No alcohol taste to describe. Overall, I think I prefer this one fresh.